


Which Nobody Can Deny.

by withoutwords



Category: due South
Genre: Birthdays, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Call of the Wild, They're shacked up in a little cabin living happily ever after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-06 07:25:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5408018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withoutwords/pseuds/withoutwords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“He said seven, okay? And we both know Fraser’s seven is our six-forty-five, hmm? So just because I’m prob’ly going to freeze to death in the ass end of the Northwest Areas before I can even wish him a - ”</i>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s Fraser’s birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Which Nobody Can Deny.

**Author's Note:**

> A belated birthday wish to jackymedan. I hope it was a happy one! The occasion inspired me to write a little something, so consider it my apology for missing the actual day :)

It’s cold. Ray’s wearing so many layers he lost count on the eighth one and Diefenbaker’s looking at him like he’s the stupidest criminal they ever nabbed. Ray can remember that guy – he can remember Fraser excusing himself from the interrogation room because he couldn’t stop laughing – and Ray resents the insinuation.

“Shut up,” he tells Dief, despite the silence, wrapping the blanket a little tighter and curling himself further into the armchair. “He said seven, okay? And we both know Fraser’s seven is our six-forty-five, hmm? So just because I’m prob’ly going to freeze to death in the ass end of the Northwest Areas before I can even wish him a - ”

The cabin door swings open to reveal Fraser and a gust of snowy wind; Fraser decked from head to toe in all his gear and barely recognisable. Ray gets to his feet so fast he almost falls over with the weight of his clothes, calling,

“Happy Birthday!” between breaths and grunts. He throws a disparaging look at Deifenbaker for not giving him any warning but Dief’s expression just says something smart like _I stand by my original assessment. Loser._ Ray hates that he’s getting so good at reading them.

“Ray?”

“No, it’s the other guy that lives with you. I s’pose his name’s Ray, too?”

Fraser starts to peel off a few clothes, his hats, his gloves; his boots are already standing upright, dutiful by the door. “What on earth are you wearing?

“I’m cold.” Ray pulls a face but he’s not sure Fraser can see him.

“What happened to the fire?”

“I – uh – might’ve been sleeping and, you know, let it go out.”

Thankfully Fraser just looks vaguely amused. He sets a kiss to what he must think is Ray’s head but is more in the vicinity of his shoulder (Ray’s _really_ cold) and heads over to the fireplace. Fraser’s only got the last few layers of his own outfit on, now, socks and jeans and a knitted sweater that Ray’s mom sent before the quest. 

“So uh,” Ray mutters as he sits down on a chair by the table, watching Fraser poke at the dead embers. “You heard the part where I said happy birthday, right?”

“Yes I did, Ray,” he replies quietly, and the dreary way he says it makes Ray feel guilty. “Thank you.”

“I got you a cake,” he tries, and when Fraser looks around with a little more light in his eyes Ray thinks, okay, greatness, we’re getting somewhere.

There’s a tiny little cupcake sitting on the table, a solitary candle sticking out of the top. Ray had gotten it the day before last, when they’d gone into town for supplies. He’d managed to keep it hidden with the rest of his things, but even more successfully had kept it from being eaten by the wolf.

“It’s fresh. Well, it was, you know, when it was bought, but I figure a guy who eats dry meat can’t complain about a little dry cake.”

Fraser drops the lightwood he’s holding and comes back over. His hand curls around Ray – one layer of blanket now pooled at Ray’s feet – as he reaches to pick up his cake. He looks at it, in all its rainbow sprinkled glory, and then smiles at Ray as if he’s never gotten cake on his birthday before. Ray really, really hopes that isn’t true.

“It’s lovely.”

“It’s nothing,” Ray says, shaking his head. “I’m sorry that we didn’t do anything, or I didn’t plan anything, I -”

“Ray,” Fraser says sharply, managing to keep hold of the cake and pull a chair over so he can sit in front of Ray, knee to knee. Close up he looks tired, pale around his eyes despite the frosty red of his cheeks; and it’s not the first time that he’s come home looking like the world’s heavy on his shoulders, nor the first time Ray’s thought _fuck you, world_. 

“It hasn’t been a happy birthday, then?”

“It’s – it was just another day I’m afraid. This job – I’m still on a probation of sorts, as you know, so - ”

“So you’ve been working too hard. You’re beat.”

“Something like that, yes.”

Ray decides to brave the cold a little more, peeling off another blanket and getting his arms free. The cake still sits in Fraser’s hands, clasped in his lap, and Ray reaches out to curl gloved hands around Fraser’s thighs. They just sit there a moment, Diefenbaker huffing indignantly by the still unlit fire, Fraser throwing Ray amused glances.

Ray knows that Fraser’s not a fan of talking about it. At least not right away, not on other people’s terms, not without some thickly disguised story about a caribou and an Inuit man with one leg. Ray gets it – he gets Fraser – and he knows that all he needs to do right now is sit here, touch Fraser, be present.

“How about we light the candle, and then use it to start the fire?” Ray says gently, running his hands up and down Fraser’s legs. Fraser’s look has moved from amused to affectionate and Ray’s throwing him cheeky little grins. “You can do that, right?”

“I would imagine so.”

They don’t. Fraser puts the cake on the table and Ray takes off his gloves and they slowly stand up to face each other. Fraser looks at Ray with those hooded eyes, steps in so that their toes kick, and meets him halfway for a kiss. It’s gradual, a press of lips, another, Fraser with his hand low on Ray’s hip and pulling him in. Ray's hands are warm in Fraser’s hair, his face is warm against Fraser’s own, and it builds.

They’re so good at this, they’ve always been good at this, right from the start; and Ray’s only ever been with one other person who made him feel so – _so much_ , and he’d been with her for over ten years. 

“I was thinking, you know,” Ray says as Fraser stops to pull Ray’s hat off. Then a second. “When we go back to Edna’s we can get that knife you always look at but then pretend you don’t.”

“I’d like that.”

“I could wrap it in newspaper and you could act surprised.”

“You always surprise me,” Fraser says seriously, running his nose along Ray’s throat, and it feels full, woolly, like he can’t breathe properly. “Besides, I think I’m doing my own fair share of unwrapping right now, I don’t think I’ll need any more.”

Ray barks out a laugh, pulling Fraser back over for another kiss, pulling, having, taking him in. It’s slick and warm and _so good_ and Fraser does this all the time, gives all that he has to the job but comes home and finds more for Ray. Ray huffs out a “Happy birthday,” while Fraser’s mouthing at what he can reach of Ray’s neck and it’s stupid how many hours he spent freezing to death when kissing Fraser makes him go hot in mere minutes.

“Thank you, Ray,” Fraser says back, biting at Ray’s ear and making Ray hiss. “Every day’s a happy one here. With you.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr!](http://thefancyspin.tumblr.com)


End file.
